P'bater Basher

I have been on a major hunt for a potato masher for Annabelle to use in her new kitchen Santa brought her for Christmas. Either everybody wants any potato mashers that might be available in Goodwill Stores or they are really using them at their own homes, because I have had a very hard time finding a used one. I really didn't want to spend $3.50 for a new one; a buck is about the highest I want to go. Yeah, I know, for all the gas we spent trying to get a used one we could have bought a brand new one! But I'm all about adventure.

My idea for getting one for Annabelle came to me after I got a Christmas Card from my little Amish friend in Ohio. I, and a friend of mine, have been penpals with her since she was around 12 years old. She married a couple of years ago and now has a sweet little girl of her own named Emily.

In my Christmas letter from her she mentioned that Emily was interested in helping her mommy cook and do all the domestic duties around the house, much like Annabelle does. She was born in May after Annabelle was born in October. Santa Claus was going to bring Emily her very own potato masher and a couple of other cooking utensils so she could help Mommy. Just a simple, practical gift for little Emily. How much happier would our kids be if we lived the simpler life where they could be creative instead of all the electronic things we bombard them with? I don't see that happening because I'm guilty myself of wanted my grandkids to have fun things to play with, too. But I do wonder sometimes.

When you think of Emily's potato masher your first vision would probably be a child's potato masher and other kid sized utensils, boxed in their own little box, but knowing the Amish like we've come to know them, I knew it had to be the real, adult-sized potato masher. Mommy probably was needing one herself so she used that for an excuse, I'm guessing, but little Emily would get her chance to play with her very own potato masher and Mommy could borrow it occasionally. Thus came the bright idea for me to get Annabelle one once I found out Santa was bringing her a kitchen.

On one of my trips to a Goodwill store, a man and woman from another country came over where I was looking for the potato masher. He had picked up an omelet pan and showed it to her. I couldn't understand either one of them until she said, "potato masher". What? Someone else wants my potato masher? Oh, please let me find it first. But neither one of us was lucky enough to find it that day.

This past Saturday was the Grand opening of the new Salvation Army store close by. I thought I would venture into the new store. What a joke! Everybody in the county had the same idea I did. I really only wanted the potato masher!

I wormed my way back to the section of the store in hopes I would find one. There on the wall was my envied potato masher and it looked like it was in great condition. It wasn't wobbly like one or two I had seen before at Goodwill. I excused myself while I plowed through to grab my potato masher.

All went well...until I realized the people I had just excused myself from were standing in line will carts filled with merchandise to be checked out. You've got to be kidding. No way. This was at the very back of the store and it snaked from there to the front of the store. Being a little familiar with long lines I gave it a conservative estimate of no less than 1 hour and maybe even a couple or more hours before check out and owning that potato masher for my sweet little girl.

I thought perhaps I would do a quick look through the store and I held onto that potato masher just in case I decided to lose all my senses and stand in line with the other nuts...just for that potato masher.

I had gotten almost to the middle of the line and one of the voluteers asked people in the line if anybody had cash only. Nobody was a taker, so I saw my chance. I moved forward and said, "Me, I have cash only!" He directed me to the other line with only a couple of customers in it. I lost all interest in anything else in that store. I just wanted to get out of there. So, I jumped into the line he had designated, offered my .99 plus tax and got the heck out of there. But not before the sweet little lady in front of me spotted my potato masher. I had to tell her the story behind me getting it. She said, "I need that potato masher! I've been looking for one. Do you know how hard it is to find one nowadays? I don't think anybody uses those things anymore!" Tell me about it,lady. Nobody knows how hard it is to find one. Lady, I would have caved and let you have it if it hadn't been something for Sweet Annabelle! But she's my baby and my loyalty's to her.

Today was the first time we got to see her since I got it, and as she was leaving tonight I handed it to her. That sweet little face lit up like a Christmas Tree. A simple little .99 potato masher (plus hours looking and at least $25.00 worth of gas,)made her a happy little girl. I could have spent a hundred dollars and she wouldn't have been happier.

And as they were leaving to go home tonight, Granddaddy asked her to let him see it. She gave him that horrified, disgusted look that only Annabelle can give and she said, "NO!, MY P'bater Basher!" She had absolutely no intention of letting her Granddaddy take her P'bater Basher. He could go get his own! Sorry Granddaddy, she had no way of knowing you were right there with me all those miles we drove trying to find it for her, but I was glad she was so proud of it.

Sweet Annabelle, you really have no idea how much I tried to fulfill my promise to you to get you a potato masher for your kitchen. I hope you will enjoy using it.

And to those people who no longer need a potato masher in their house and dropped that one into the Salvation Army bag, let me say, "Thank you so much for making two people very happy. Maybe I should say three people including Annabelle's Granddaddy, I just hope you never realize how much you really need one in the future because you will have a very hard time finding one. And, by the way, I'm sure you never used it when you had it because it's in excellent condition. Your loss is Annabelle's gain."

So little girl of my little girl, you better take care of your p'bater basher. You may need it someday when you're married. You will have your very own antique potato masher. I have a feeling those things are going out of style along with old-fashioned store bought potatoes. Don't let your Daddy throw it back into Goodwill, no matter how hard he tries. You just pull it out, again and again and again, if you have to. Maybe even sleep with it, if you have to! You protect your precious p'bater basher.